IDA Created Opportunity for Woman at "an economic dead end"
Sunny Suppa had a dream.
She wanted to start a business creating clothes for petite women like herself. But with less-than-stellar credit and no savings, she felt stuck in an economic dead end.
“I was worried that I would be denied the opportunity to make something of myself,” she said.
But hope was waiting just around the corner for her.
Through an entrepreneurship program, she learned about IDAs – Individual Development Accounts – and quickly started one with CFED’s partner, Opportunity Fund in San Jose, CA. IDAs are matched savings accounts that help low-income people to achieve their dreams of homeownership, education or owning a business. For every $1 that a participant saves, an extra $1-3 will be put into their IDA from nonprofit and federal funds. CFED was one of IDAs earliest advocates, putting it into practice and pushing it into policy.
Sunny earned $6,000 through her IDA savings, and became sole owner of 5ft2in™ — an apparel company that specialized in pants for women 5’2” and under. She never forgot her roots though.
“The IDA has been a tremendous help in getting my business started and in my personal finances,” said Sunny.
1200 G Street, NW